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Bottas to replace Senna in F1 seat for Williams in 2013

Valtteri Bottas has been with Williams for three years. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

To no one's great surprise, Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado will drive for the Williams Formula One team in 2013.

The confirmation means that Bruno Senna, who finished 16th in the points this season, joins a lengthy list of drivers who are without a seat. That list also includes 2012 regulars Kumui Kobayashi, Narain Karthikeyan, Vitaly Petrov and Heikki Kovalainen.

Maldonado's involvement has never been in doubt given his Venezuelan sponsorship, while Bottas has looked like a certainty for the second seat for some months. Bottas, co-managed by Williams shareholder Toto Wolff, has impressed in Friday practice sessions this year.

“In Pastor and Valtteri we have two of the most exciting talents in motor racing and I am especially excited about what 2013 can bring for Williams,” team boss Frank Williams said. “Pastor has always demonstrated remarkable pace and this year has seen him mature as a racing driver.

“Valtteri is quite simply one of the most talented young racing drivers I have come across and we expect great things from him in the future. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our departing driver Bruno Senna for his hard work over the past year and wish him the best of luck going forward.”

Bottas is looking forward to stepping into a full-time F1 race seat in 2013.

“I've really enjoyed my three years with Williams so far and feel very at home here so my goal was always to stay for 2013 and progress to a race seat,” said Bottas. “I'm looking forward to getting my Formula One career started and enjoying a lot of success with Williams.”

Maldonado finished 15th the drivers' championship.

“I'm really enjoying my time with Williams and I was obviously very happy when I was told that I would be continuing with the team in 2013,” said Maldonado. “2012 was a memorable year for me with the win in Barcelona and we made a big step forward in terms of performance. I have a lot of confidence in the team and hopefully next year will see us move even further up the grid and taste more success.”